Prezzo to close Corby restaurant after post-Covid recovery proved 'harder than they hoped'

Corby’s Prezzo will close after the Italian restaurant chain said its post-Covid recovery had proved harder than they hoped.

The George Street site – which opened in 2015 – is one of 46 loss-making restaurants that the firm has announced will shut for good.

A closure date has not been confirmed and Prezzo’s nearby Kettering restaurant is not on the closure list.

Dean Challenger, chief executive of Prezzo, said: “The last three years have been some of the hardest times I have ever seen for the high street and I’m extremely proud of the way our colleagues have retained Prezzo’s position as an appealing, trusted, great value food and drink experience.”

“But the reality is that the cost-of-living crisis, the changing face of the high street and soaring inflation has made it impossible to keep all our restaurants operating profitably. That is why we have made the difficult decision to close 46 sites where the post-Covid recovery has proved harder than we had hoped.

“We will work to find suitable alternative roles in other Prezzo restaurants for all those hard-working colleagues impacted by the announcement and support those who cannot be accommodated in finding new opportunities.”

“We believe the tough decisions we are making today will ensure Prezzo can continue serving communities with high-quality, accessible Italian-inspired meals for many more years to come.”

The move affects about 810 Prezzo workers across the country who have been informed of the closures today. Prezzo say they will work to redeploy as many staff internally as possible and will support others in finding new opportunities.

The closures mean Prezzo will be left with 97 sites and about 2,000 employees.

The full list of Prezzo sites which are closing:

Beccles

Billericay

Bolton

Borehamwood

Boston

Bracknell

Brentwood

Buckhurst Hill

Buckingham

Chichester

Chingford

Colchester

Corby

Didcot

Eastbourne

Egham

Eltham

Ely

Epsom

Fleet

Glasgow, St Vincent Place

Hailsham

Harpenden

Livingston

Lyndhurst

Maidstone

Mere Green

Mill Hill

Oxford

Plymouth

Redditch

Redhill

Rugby

Shepperton

Shirley

Sidcup

St Neots

Stowmarket

Tenterden

Tunbridge Wells

Weybridge

Whitstable

Wickford

Wimborne

Winchester

Woodford Green